Nearly one million immigrants moved to the 12-state Midwest between 2000 and 2010, offsetting an otherwise-shrinking population, according to new data released in The Chicago Council’s “Growing the Heartland” report. With the region growing more slowly than the national average over the past 50 years, immigrants are a demographic lifeline, replacing an aging native-born workforce, ensuring robust tax bases, and safeguarding political representation at the federal level. Join Rob Paral, lead author of the report in a coversation around how regional data present a call-to-action for both immigration reform and immigrant integration in the Midwest.
“Despite the flat growth in much of the Midwest, thousands of immigrants from around the globe choose the Midwest as the place they want to live.”
Speaker: Rob Paral, Principal, Rob Paral and Associates and lead author of “Growing the Heartland”
Moderator: Juliana Kerr, director of the Immigration Initiative at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
